India’s trade with the BRICS countries has accelerated over the past five years, making the bloc a significant portion of the country’s imports. However, this growing trade also reflects a larger problem: India is more dependent on imports from the bloc, pushing its trade deficit higher.India’s bilateral trade with the other 10 BRICS countries reached $416 billion in 2025, growing by nearly 10% every year between 2021 and 2025, a report by Rubix Data Sciences said. But while trade has increased, India’s goods trade deficit with the bloc nearly doubled in the same period, rising from $117 billion to $224 billion.The main reason for this is the sharp jump in imports. India’s imports from BRICS countries will reach $320 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 12% over five years.
This has also pushed the share of BRICS in India’s total imports from 36% in FY2021 to 43% in FY2025.In the BRICS countries, Russia has become one of India’s fastest growing import partners, with imports rising at a CAGR of 61%, mainly due to crude oil purchases. The UAE and Brazil also remained major trading partners, with each growing at a CAGR of 12%.But exports have not kept pace.India’s exports to BRICS countries will reach $96 billion in FY25, at a CAGR of just 3% over the same period.
BRICS countries account for about 22% of India’s total exports. Among the bloc countries, exports to the UAE grew fastest at 11%, followed by Russia at 8% and Egypt at 5%.This gap between imports and exports has widened the trade imbalance between India and several BRICS members.In 2025, India registered a trade deficit with China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia, while trade with Brazil and South Africa remained roughly balanced.China remained the largest source of trade imbalance in India, with the deficit exceeding $100 billion. Russia follows with a deficit of $55 billion.The report also showed that the bloc, as a group, remains a major force in global trade. In 2025, the BRICS countries will record total exports of $6.1 trillion and imports of $4.9 trillion, making them net exporters with strong production capacity.Between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, the BRICS countries accounted for about 25% of global exports and 20% of global imports. Total trade in the bloc remained largely unchanged at $10.9 trillion, at a compound annual growth rate of just 1%. The BRICS countries now represent 49.5% of the world’s population, 40% of global GDP, and 26% of global trade.